(Ben Sellers, Headline USA) With Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., ignoring calls to use a talking filibuster to help pass the SAVE Act, conservatives are speculating about ways to force the hand of the RINO leader.
Pro-MAGA Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., suggested that the legislation to close election-integrity loopholes by mandating voter ID, among other things, might be hitched to the perennial FISA reauthorization that allows deep-state agencies to conduct mass surveillance under the pretense of national security.
“If the Senate is unwilling to do the right thing and pass the SAVE AMERICA Act by breaking the standing filibuster, the only way to get this done is to stick it on FISA,” Luna wrote in a post on X.
🚨 BREAKING: Rep. Anna Paulina Luna announces a plan to ATTACH the SAVE America Act to FISA — a "must-pass" — if the Senate refuses to pass it standalone
PLAYING HARDBALL! 🔥
LUNA: "If the Senate is unwilling to do the right thing and pass the SAVE AMERICA Act by breaking the… pic.twitter.com/oCug91CJ6t
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 6, 2026
Luna initially floated her plan in February. “Voter ID is one of the most important issues in the world. … And I think that if that’s the way that you have to do it, then so be it.”
The reauthorization of the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and its post-9/11 enhancements have been a frequent sticking point in the legislature due to concerns over intelligence agencies’ past abuse of it to spy on private U.S. citizens.
The act became a centerpiece in the Russia-collusion hoax waged by the Obama administration, in which the secretive FISA court gave the FBI the authorization it needed to open an investigation into then-candidate Donald Trump and wiretap his phones.
Meanwhile, the SAVE Act has been a crucial focal point in the Trump administration’s current agenda. In addition to securing safe elections, it also addresses immigration issues and transgender surgeries, thus covering several top conservative priorities that enjoy widespread public support.
Thune inexplicably has refused to move the legislation, claiming that it lacks the needed support and that the Senate has no time to pass it in between the legislature’s frequent vacations.
SAVE ACT: Leader Thune explained that Senators don’t have time to debate and vote on the SAVE Act. For example, today would have been a problem since Sen Thom Tillis had to participate in a dog parade featuring the dogs of Congress. pic.twitter.com/WfBlmUeO1h
— @amuse (@amuse) February 26, 2026
However, Luna isn’t the only one strategizing solutions that would force the hand of the do-nothing senators. In Texas, current attorney general and senatorial candidate Ken Paxton, who faces a primary runoff against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn for the Republican nomination, left the longtime RINO lawmaker between a rock and a hard place.
Amid calls for the GOP to coalesce around a single candidate in the must-win race, Paxton has said he intends to keep fighting but would consider dropping out if Cornyn used his influence to get the SAVE Act passed.
Conservative pundits, including Texas-based influencer Alexander Muse, praised the strategy, saying it was a win for Paxton either way.
“By tying his potential withdrawal from the race to passage of the SAVE America Act he has transformed a campaign dispute into a test of governing competence,” Muse wrote.
— @amuse (@amuse) March 6, 2026
He said Thune’s reticence may be sheer laziness to lead in a political culture that rewards senatorial inaction — particularly for those in safe red states who can use their institutional power and fundraising advantage to quash any challengers.
“The institution has grown accustomed to procedural shortcuts and quiet stalemates that allow members to return home and claim that Washington is simply gridlocked,” Muse wrote.
“There is also an unspoken fear behind this reluctance,” he added. “If voters discovered that determined senators could actually pass major legislation, especially on issues that command something like 85% public support such as election integrity, they might begin expecting that level of effort all the time.”
On Saturday, Cornyn expressed his support for forcing a floor vote via the talking filibuster, which would require Democrats to try to impede the vote through actual debate instead of a cloture workaround.
“I have supported the Save America Act from day one,” Cornyn said. “I will happily support the ‘talking filibuster’ if that’s what it takes to pass this into law.”
However, Muse remained skeptical, further challenging Cornyn to lobby the four remaining GOP holdouts: Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
SAVE ACT: @grok explain to John Cornyn that Senators get legislation passed by promising to help raise money for colleagues through joint fundraising committees, leadership PACs, or by hosting events. Confirm that Leader Thune has said that four members of the Republican caucus… https://t.co/xZNaQvwWIF
— @amuse (@amuse) March 7, 2026
McConnell and Tillis have both indicated their plans to retire after the current term. However, Collins faces what is likely to be a heavily contested re-election bid in November and may need help from her fellow senators with fundraising.
BREAKING🚨: 49 Senators now BACK the SAVE America Act to SECURE our elections!
Time to call the remaining Republican holdouts and URGE them to SUPPORT it:
– Lisa Murkowski (AK): (202) 224-6665
– Mitch McConnell (KY): (202) 224-2541
– Susan Collins (ME): (202) 224-2523
-…— Officer Lew (@officer_Lew) February 12, 2026
Ben Sellers is a freelance writer and former editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/realbensellers.
